Time to be responsible and stay at home: Lionel Messi's message on coronavirus pandemic

Image Credits: Lionel Messi Instagram

Barcelona tennis star Lionel Messi has said that it is time for everyone to be responsible and stay at home after the Spanish football league season was suspended in the wake of a deadly coronavirus outbreak that has spread all across the world and declared 'pandemic' by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Taking to his official Instagram account, the 32-year-old Argentinian said that health must come fast and that everyone should follow the instructions of both health organizations and public authorities in order to combat coronavirus effectively. 

‘These are complicated days for the whole world. We are living worried about what is happening and we want to help by putting ourselves in the place of those who are suffering the worst, or because they have been directly effected, or their family and friends, or because they’re working in the front line to fight it in hospitals and health centres," Messi wrote.

‘I want to send a lot of strength to all of them. Health should always come first. It’s an extraordinary moment and you have to follow the indications from health organisations like the public authority. Only like this can we fight it in an effective way. Health should always be an important thing. It’s the moment to be responsible and stay at home, we can also enjoy this time with our family that we don’t always have. ‘A hug, and I hope we can turn the situation around as soon as possible. #StayAtHome," he added. 

Earlier, FC Barcelona had decided to suspend the training sessions for its first-team squad amid the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The decision came after La Liga also decided to suspend all the matches for at least two weeks, while the Spanish Football Federation also canceled all over levels of football in the country.

It is to be noted that Real Madrid basketball player Trey Thompkins, who shares training facilities with the club's football team, was tested positive for COVID-19. 

The virus outbreak, which was first reported in December 2019 from Wuhan city of China, has so far affected over 100 countries and claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people and has affected more than 1,32,000 persons globally.